Armstrong's Efficiency Aids Bears 5-1 Start

NEW PALTZ, N.Y. -The SUNY Potsdam men's basketball team (5-1) defeated the SUNY New Paltz Hawks (2-3) 83-70 in its SUNYAC opener on Friday evening. In a game of runs, the Bears got the win behind a career-high 21-point performance from sophomore guard Isaiah Joseph (Harlem, N.Y./Izquierdo Health & Science Charter). Joseph connected on six 3-pointers, also a career high. Senior captain Jayquan Thomas (Queens, N.Y./Queens High School of Teaching) scored 15 points on the night.

The Hawks opened the scoring on their home floor with a layup by junior guard Jake Passaretti. The Bears came out strong, as they responded with a 13-0 run. The run was capped by an offensive putback from senior captain Aaron Armstrong (Madrid-Waddington) who enjoyed a high efficiency 11-ploint effort which featurted 4-5 shooting, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. The Hawks then began a run of their own at the 14:44 mark. The 9-0 stretch was ignited and finished with two layups from junior guard Richard Altenord. Armstrong's 3-pointer from the top of the key halted the run by New Paltz at 13:06. Two minutes later, New Paltz tied the game at 16 after freshman guard RJ Meyers-Turner's three from the right wing. With 8:30 left, after a layup from Bears senior captain Danny Delsol-Lowry (Queens, N.Y./Queens High School of Teaching), senior forward Tristan Wissemann came back and drilled a three, giving the Hawks their first lead at 21-20. The Bears once again responded, with a 7-0 run, wrapped up by Thomas' shot from behind-the-arc. New Paltz got within one again at the 4:00 mark, but Joseph interrupted the home team's run with a three. Thomas went on to score eight of the team's last 10 points in the half with a series of long range shots. The Bears led 42-35 at the half.

Four minutes into the second period, the Bears were back up by double digits when Delsol-Lowry made a catch and shoot 3-pointer. Joseph picked up where he left off in the second, drilling two more threes halfway through the final 20 minutes, putting the Bears up by 17. Using its aggressiveness in the paint and free throw shooting, Potsdam eventually took a 20-point lead with two minutes left, and went on to secure the 83-70 road victory.

Turner ended with a game-high 23 points for the Hawks and grabbed five rebounds. Wisseman scored 12 points and pulled down seven boards.

The Bears are off to their best start since the 2008-09 season when they also started 5-1 and are perfect (5-0) against Division III opponents. Potsdam has won seven straight against the Hawks, dating back to a 73-68 victory in Welsh Gym on January 27, 2017. Coach Bechtel has never lost to New Paltz.

SARGENT SAINTS BRIGHT SPOT

Cale Sargent led the Saints with 16 points, but Rensselaer shot 53.4 percent from the floor and 40.7 percent from the arc to top the St. Lawrence University men's basketball team 91-54 in the Liberty League opener on Friday night in Troy, New York.

Sargent shot 5-for-9 from the floor, shot 4-4 from the foul line and went 2-for-3 from 3-point range to lead the Saints, while Chris Jeffrey and Luke Hicks added 10 points each. Jeffrey grabbed a team-best six rebounds, while Andrew Geschickter totaled three steals and three assists for the Scarlet and Brown.

Rensselaer shot 56.76 percent in the second half and outscored the Saints 48-28 for the win.

Mason Memmelaar went 11-for-15 from the floor and led the Engineers with 23 points, while Will Rubin scored 15 and Wayland added 12. Kevin Davis grabbed eight rebounds, while Dom Black recorded four steals and two blocks.

St. Lawrence fell to 1-4 on the season and 0-1 in conference play, while the Engineers improved to 4-2 and 1-0.

The Saints will take on Union, tomorrow afternoon at 4 p.m. in Schenectady, New York.

ROOS SHADED IN NAC OPENER

CANTON – Danny Santana led the SUNY Canton (4-5, 0-1) with 17 points but visiting Thomas College (5-2-1, 1-0 NAC) earned a 59-56 win in a back-and-forth battle as both teams opened North Atlantic Conference (NAC) action on Friday evening.

Thomas jumped out to an early 8-2 lead and extended their advantage to 11 at 20-9 following an Evan Arsenault layup with 8:56 to play in the opening half. The Roos responded with an 8-1 run on back-to-back threes and a layup all from Santana.In a game of runs the Terriers rattled off a 9-0 spurt before Canton closed to within 30-21 at intermission.Thomas led by 10 early in the second half and still clung to a 53-47 lead with 2:46 to play. Canton used a 6-0 run behind four points from Andrew Fitch and a pair of free throws from Quran DuBois to tie the game at 53 apiece with 59 seconds remaining.Following Fitch’s second made free throw the Roos were whistled for a costly foul on the rebounding action as Jacob Godfrey made the front end of a one-and-one and converted the second free throw for a 55-53 lead.The Roos missed a layup and jumper on their next possession as Demetris Webster knocked down a pair of free throws with 18 seconds left to extend the lead to four.Santana buried a three-pointer with 6.1 seconds left off an offensive rebound to get Canton with 57-56.Zach Mackinnon missed the front end of a one-and-one with five seconds left but Lovegeurson Fleurine corralled the offensive rebounds and Canton fouled with less than half a second remaining. Mackinnon knocked down both free throws and the Roos half court heave at the buzzer missed resulting in the Thomas three-point win.Santana paced the Roos with 17 points hitting three three-pointers and adding six rebounds. DuBois tallied 11 points and seven rebounds, while Fitch added eight points, six rebounds and five blocks.Mackinnon led the Terriers with 19 points as he eclipsed the 1,000 career points total in the second half. Godfrey finished with 10 points, while Tyler Nixon added nine.

These two teams will have a rematch on Saturday at 3 p.m.

RPI DENIES LADY SAINTS

Three members of the St. Lawrence University women's basketball team netted double digits, but a strong second half, powered Rensselaer to a 74-60 win over the Saints in the 2019-20 Liberty League opener on Friday evening in Troy, New York.
Erin Kumler shot 6-for-14 from the floor and led the Saints with a season-high 17 points, while Ava McCann shot 4-for-9 and 3-for-7 from 3-point range for 13 points and Olivia Barringer added 12. Katie Frederick recorded a team-high 12 rebounds, while Nicole Jeffrey grabbed 10. Frederick recorded two blocks for the Saints, while Kumler added two steals.
The Engineers maintained their double-digit lead through the rest of the contest for the win.
"RPI played well tonight," said head coach Dan Roiger. "They are a good offensive team that feasts on turnovers and we fed them tonight. We have to play better to compete in this league."
Celia Tomlinson shot 9-for-19 from the floor to lead the Engineers with 20 points, while Ortea added 18 and Sam Krumbhaar finished with 13. Tina Heer grabbed a team-best seven rebounds and added five assists, while Krumbhaar led Rensselaer with four steals.
St. Lawrence fell to 2-4 overall and 0-1 in conference play, while Rensselaer improved to 5-1 and 1-0.
The Saints will take on Union, tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m. in Schenectady, New York.

LADY ROOS DROP NAC OPENER

CANTON – Joie Culkin recorded a double-double and Autumn Kunes and Autumn Watkins also scored in double figures but the SUNY Canton (0-8, 0-1) women’s basketball team dropped its North Atlantic Conference (NAC) opener to visiting Thomas College (1-6, 1-0) 66-48 on Friday evening.

The teams played a back-and-forth opening quarter as the Roos led 16-13 after 10 minutes behind three three-pointers from Autumn Kunes.The Terriers outscored the Roos 10-4 in the second quarter to take a 23-20 lead into intermission.

Thomas continued to produce on the offensive end combining for 43 points in the second half, while Canton tallied 14 points in each quarter.Culkin posted 14 points and 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the season. Kunes tallied 12 points, three steals and two assists, while Watkins came up one rebound short of a double-double with 10 points, nine rebounds and five assists.

Jeanna Manning chipped in seven points and seven boards.Karli Stubbs led the Terrier with 23 points and six rebounds, while Addie Brinkman recorded a double-double on 18 points and 14 rebounds. Malorie Weaver also scored in double figures with 12 and added eight boards.

These two teams will have a rematch on Saturday at 1 p.m.

LADY BEARS DROP SUNYAC OPENER

NEW PALTZ, N.Y.- SUNY New Paltz (4-1, 1-0 SUNYAC) defeated the SUNY Potsdam women's basketball team (2-4, 0-1) 74-42 in the teams' SUNYAC opener on Friday night. Freshman guard Bella Barner (Liverpool, N.Y./Liverpool) matched a career-high with nine points to lead the Bears and sophomore forward Devyn Elliott (Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal Spellman) had eight and six rebounds.
The Hawks opened the contest on 14-4 run and led Potsdam 16-8 after the first 10 minutes. Freshman forward Jakia Howard (Syracuse, N.Y./Nottingham) scored six of the Bears points and freshman guard Tsai Lewis (Cortland, N.Y./Cortland) added a layup.
LaFountain finished with seven points and personal-best nine rebounds. Hunter also scored seven and Howard had six.
Marion Dietz led all scorers with 16 points for the Hawks. Teape scored 10 and grabbed nine boards. Olivia Badura also scored 10, while totaling five rebounds and Van Pelt had nine points and five boards.
The Bears head to SUNY Oneonta tomorrow for a 2 p.m. contest with the Red Dragons.